Practically SharePoint: The Book
Since age 12 I’ve dreamed about writing a book. Five years ago I set that as a goal. This year I plan to make that goal a reality.
I was camping in the Anza Borrego Desert last November with two very smart men: a CEO and an entrepreneur/author. The idea of “writing and riding” came on suddenly: maybe I could take a few months to ride my motorcycle, aimlessly except for the aim of writing every day! I have been working on that plan ever since: making notes, asking advice, prepping the bike, and writing.
I suppose the dream originally was to write a great Canadian novel, but in order to bring it a bit more into reach and pragmatic, I have decided to focus on what I have been writing and doing mostly for the last 10 years…SharePoint development projects!
What do you think about a SharePoint book that is focused on project management, user engagement, and efficient processes? I want to write down and share the tricks and methods I’ve developed that make my SharePoint projects successful. It would be largely “version agnostic” and include online examples, support materials, and templates.
Would you read it? Would you buy it?
The working title is “Practically SharePoint”, reflecting the “practical” or pragmatic way I like to approach these projects. Practically also refers to the fact the book will avoid specific technical advice and will be practically (but not quite?) about SharePoint.
Here’s the proposed outline:
- Introduction: The Practically SharePoint Philosophy
- Managing SharePoint Projects
- Designing SharePoint Solutions
- The Development Process
- User Engagement from Day One
- Information Architecture
- Content Migration
- Governance Guidance
- Training and Support
- Specific Solutions: Common Business problems with specific solutions supported by online resources.
- Appendices: Glossary, Useful websites and books, other resources.
So let me ask you, “what is one bit of advice for anyone designing, building, or maintaining a SharePoint site?” Can I include that in the book? Please comment below or contact me directly.
Thank you,
Gerry
August 11, 2017 @ 11:36 pm
My bit(s) of advice are:
– need executive and leadership commitment
– follow a plan
– celebrate successes
– start a movement by focusing on the early adopters and those that are enthusiastic
I found the Ted Talk from Derek Sivers especially powerful and showed it to our Power Users or “evangelists”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXMnDG3QzxE
August 12, 2017 @ 12:07 am
Thank you, Robert! Great points and I am a huge fan of Derek Sivers as well.
August 14, 2017 @ 4:32 pm
Hi Gerry,
I would like to point out one thing in SharePoint project. While working on SharePoint publishing site, page design and future modification required an approval process to publish the contents. Sometimes technical and non-technical users are in the approver’s list and making things complex. The project team has to have a proper guide line for the same.
Thanks
Alan
August 14, 2017 @ 8:43 pm
Thank you, Alan. “KISS” (Keep it Simple SharePoint) is one of the Practically SharePoint guiding principles.
August 14, 2017 @ 5:07 pm
Enjoyed your session in Seattle last week. Looking forward to seeing your book.
August 14, 2017 @ 8:42 pm
Thank you, Scott.
August 16, 2017 @ 8:27 pm
Hi Gerry,
I enjoyed your sessions from Seattle last week, thank you! Particularly, the shopping cart session was very informative and gave me ideas I could use in my environment.
For your book, I see in the outline above that you have Governance, Content Migration, and Information Architecture. I would be sure to mention something about Information Management Policies to keep data and content from getting out of hand. It’s easy with a shiny and brand new farm to want to start using it and adding content.
This is what’s happened in my environment years before I started here and I am dealing with the issue of safely cleaning up data. Particularly with publishing pages which contain links to resources and items that were added years ago. The problem is that there is no “easy” way to know if the items will cause broken links if you remove them. Thus, the challenge.
It would be so much easier to place Information Management Policy into effect from the beginning than to clean up after the fact. That’s my piece of advice.
Good luck with the book and Thank you!
August 21, 2017 @ 8:25 pm
Thank you, Julius. Great comments which I will definitely use!
August 17, 2017 @ 7:31 pm
Loved the presentation in Seattle last week. I took a lot away from it. Look forward to reading your book.
August 21, 2017 @ 8:25 pm
Thank you, Darla!
August 13, 2018 @ 6:35 pm
Hello All, progress is being made on this book! I am looking at the title now as a nearly final step. Please respond to this survey if you’d like to weigh in on what this book will be called: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZQ8RL8X